The car casually came to a stop outside the gas station. Naia stepped out. She was a little concerned that RoA Nitrox hadn't been answering her calls recently, so she had to check on him at his workplace. Even though she didn't get much news from where she lived, which was fairly far away, she did know about 'The Sendaris Madman' and William Lothan, as well as the other threats to the city of Plasmatropolis. All of the huge headline things. It all worried her too much. Could Nitrox have been caught up in this mess?
She hastily walked over to the gas station and opened the door, stepping inside. She turns to the counter, hoping to see Nitrox, because he worked here as a cashier. Instead, there was another man at the desk - Joe, his assistant.
"Joe, where in god's name is Nitrox?" Naia demanded at once, approaching the desk.
"Oh dang, sorry, Naia, I probably should've called you about this." Joe remarked. "It's a bit complicated, but he's busy."
"Busy with what? He's supposed to be working here. He hasn't had a serious job for years now." Naia pointed out.
"Well, the Sendaris Madman and his Voltaris boyfriend who got murdered attacked this place shortly after the Black Plasma Studios team visited." Joe shrugged. "In response, Nitrox joined the fight against the enemies threatening the city. So, I guess you could say he's working with BPS again, somewhat."
"He did what now?" Naia asked, in shock.
"Hey, that's why I'm here. Someone has to take over for him. The manager's cutting him some slack considering he's out there helping save the world." Joe stated matter of factly.
"For god's sake..." Naia muttered. She'd hoped Nitrox had given up the habit of running into danger by now. Too much to hope for, apparently. "Well, if he's getting involved, so am I."
*****
William's eyes opened to a flat, grey expanse. He was nowhere, yet everywhere, it seemed. At the breaking point of reason, a place where logic was dethroned. He stood up on ground that did not exist, and looked around.
He wasn't wearing his Droug armour, nor was he wearing the clothes he'd worn to bed that night. He simply donned a casual buttoned white shirt and some brown pants. He realized these were the clothes he'd worn in the framed photo of himself, his wife, and his son, and a tear welled up in his eyes. What was this place? Some sort of dreamscape?
"Dad!" A voice called out. William recognized the voice in an instant, for it was Jackson's voice, the voice of his son. Initially, William could not see him, but Jackson emerged after a few moments. He looked just as he did in the photo. It was too painful.
"This is not real. It cannot be!" William exclaimed.
"I guess you're right, sort of. You aren't really here, but I am." Jackson shrugged. "But dad, that is not the point. I had to reach out to you. It's important."
"What is this place?" William asked. He had to make sense of what he was seeing. He didn't understand anything.
"This is the afterlife. I think." Jackson said. "I've been here for years and years and years. I'm not the only one. Tons of people are here. Like the red Ardoni who calls himself Tygren, and that young woman, Kai."
"But this is just a dream, Jackson, isn't it?" William questioned.
"In the afterlife we have strange abilities." Jackson told him. "You're not in a dream, but a vision. Dad, I've given you a glimpse of the afterlife."
"But why now?" It all confused William. Was everything true or was it all just a figment of his imagination? Maybe he just really missed Jackson... that would make sense.
"Because now you need me more than ever. And I need you." Jackson explained. "What you're doing isn't okay. It's not right."
"What do you mean?" William asked. "What, can you see it?"
"I can see everything from here. We all can."
"But... but Jackson, I- I am fixing the world. When I accomplish my goals, it will be a better place!" William stammered.
"No, what you're doing will only leave the world in darkness." Jackson shook his head solemnly.
"The world is already in darkness. Only when I win will the sun rise."
"I know you're sad that I'm gone. I know you're angry that I was killed, dad, but you have to move on." Jackson said. "And don't you see what you're doing? So many people are feeling the same pain you are now. There's been so many losses... you didn't deserve yours, why do they deserve theirs?"
Poor Jackson looked like he was on the verge of tears, and William wasn't that far off from it either. He couldn't believe it, his son was against him? Was he... right?
"Do you know who Zikaitan Kaltaris is, dad?" Jackson asked.
"No, I don't think I do." William claimed, unsure of the nature of the question.
"He's a Kaltaris child who lost his parents in the massacres you had carried out!" Jackson suddenly shouted, flaring up in rage. "He's staying with the Black Plasma Studios team now. They don't even know how to help him. He was a happy child until you ruined his life! What if you'd been the one who died and I was left to mourn for you? Can't you imagine how he feels now? How everyone feels?!"
William was struck in the heart by his son's rant, and he vaguely recalled having held a Kaltaris child prisoner in his workshop. For a moment he almost felt disturbed by his own action. A voice in his head screamed at him, demanding what he had done.
But William couldn't let this stop him now. He gripped his forehead and shouted back louder. "This is not real! You aren't real! It's all a trick!"
"You're wrong." Jackson shook his head, the tears running down his cheeks, falling off his head and dissolving into the empty nothingness. "It's you who isn't real. Because you're not my father. My father has to come back. He's still in there somewhere."
"Stop it!"
"No! I won't stop until I save you from your own twisted mind, dad, I won't let you go!" Jackson screamed. "You wanted to help the world? To avenge me? You could've just fought the bad guys. Why would you become one?"
William looked down at himself. Was it true what he was hearing? He'd been thinking he was in the right, but was he the bad guy?
"I don't feel avenged." Jackson continued. "I feel disappointed."
William stood firmly, opening his mouth to scream a reply, but the words didn't come out. He couldn't think of anything to say. After a moment, he let out a sigh and looked at the ground.
"You still have a chance to fix this." Jackson claimed. "You can still right your wrongs. And make me proud of you. Mom and I. She's here too. And we both want you back."
William couldn't even speak back anymore. He'd caved and accepted what Jackson was telling him. But no, he thought. He couldn't stop now. His mind was a battlefield, filled with whirling and conflicting emotions.
"I love you, dad, and I still believe in you." Jackson whispered. "Please... don't let me down."
William opened his eyes and it was over. He was back in his own bed. After a moment of silence, he screamed, needing to let out his emotions. What had just happened? He was sad and furious and confused all at once.
Maybe it was just a dream, or a nightmare. Which was it? William shakily got out of bed and changed into a fresh pair of clothes, commencing his morning routine. Someone knocked on the door to his quarters after a few minutes.
"Who in god's name is it?" William asked, coming across way angrier than he'd hoped.
"Woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, hmm?" A familiar voice asked from the other side of the door.
"Orson, this is a bad time." William told him.
"You might think differently once I tell you the news I came here for. I finished working on your Mark II armour." Orson Graham, William's friend and ally, said.
That got William's attention. Well, something to set his mind off of what he'd just dreamed of, that was for sure. "Fine, I'll go and apply it." He walked over to the door and opened it, where Graham was standing. He wore a similar suit of Droug-based armour to the one William wore in combat.
"Where is it?" William asked.
Graham reached into his pocket and pulled out a metallic glove with a button on the palm. "Put this on and press the button, it'll extend the armour to fit you. It also seems that your arm isn't in best shape."
"Blame the accursed Sendaris madman for that. I swear I'll dispose of him next time we come face to face." William snarled, remembering the beating he'd endured by Thalleous' hands the last time they fought.
"Yeah, yeah, well, don't worry about that. The armour comes equipped with nanobots that will go in and fix it, and it would also numb your arm as well. You shouldn't feel any pain when it's on."
"Noted." William said. "Anything else I should know?"
"Well, there's a shield projected by the armour." Graham claimed. "A force field. It protects your head as well. A sword can get through it with enough force, but not a bullet nor a Song. So just don't get too close to a melee weapon."
"I'm afraid that won't be so easy." William sighed.
"You may have lost to the Sendaris Madman last time, but this armour can increase your strength and your stamina. If you fight again he will be up against more than the last time."
"Well, he also has to face my determination. It's greater than it was previously." William claimed. He took the glove from Graham and slipped it on. After hesitating for a moment, he pressed the button, and the armour began extending and materialising all around his body. A moment later, his arm began to sting, and he gritted his teeth, but after a few seconds, the sting calmed to a mere tingle and then it was over. He moved around his arm a little, then a lot, and there was not even a hint of pain. It would have taken a standard doctor ages to heal his arm to a state like this. It took only a sliver of time for Graham's nanotechnology to do the magic.
"So, how do you feel?" Graham asked.
William turned around to face him, invigorated with newfound strength and determination, and he smiled. "Ready."