Chapter Twenty Two: Wicked Webs

The chairs were lined up as half a rectangle. Three chairs at the top and the rest lined up next to them going down. Ximendos sat at the top in the middle with Amya to his left and Akasha to his right.
Ximendos
I am pleased.
Velis lay on the floor in the middle of everyone unconscious in a pool of blood.
Cameron
Can I get medical for Velis?
Ximendos
No, leave her.
Outside people were in panic, but most sat in their homes quietly. Gears paroled the entire country spread far.  
Ximendos
When will the palace be built? 
Ilias
With many working on it, soon. 
Ximendos
This satisfies me. 
Akasha
Is all going according to plan?
Ilias
Of course, mother.
Malic
Wait, what was the plan? 
Ximendos
Why are you talking? 
Malic
Sorry.
Ilias
The plan was for every human to watch our rise.
Malic did not respond.
Ilias
My main power is based on my eyes connecting with others and if they all were looking into their TV sets, they were locked into my power. 
Akasha
Sheer brilliance.
Cameron
What is the point of that?
Ilias
Excuse me, Cameron, but did you not understand? 
Cameron
I understand you now control the lives of billions of people on this planet, but what I don’t understand is why. 
Ilias
Isn’t that obvious, my brother? 
Cameron
Please, don’t call me brother. 
Iris
Ilias, your plan is not what Cameron had in mind when he proposed all of this. 
Cameron
Thank you, Iris. 
Iris
Cameron wanted to merely kill them all, and now that we have assembled all these minds to our own will, he is upset. 
Ilias
We have more plans for the world than mindless destruction.
Cameron
Mindless?
Ilias
My wording was clear.
Cameron turned to Ximendos.
Cameron
Father, you said that with the riots from Nicholas’ death, I could do as I pleased. 
Ilias
Nicholas is not dead. 
Cameron
That is beside the point. Even with Nicholas alive the humans would have had their moment to rebel with this sudden change, and you have stopped that. 
Ximendos
This is about power, Cameron.
Cameron
Keep your power. I just want to see them all dead. You can have the power of their lifeless bodies.
Cameron stood up.
Cameron
I did not agree years ago to join this so you could start a dictatorship over mindless corpses that your spoiled son controls.
Ilias smiled.
Iris
Anger is useless, Cameron. 
Cameron
Useless? Anger can blind, but as long as one is able to control it, it can lead to many great things. 
Iris
Like vengeance? Revenge?
Cameron
What are you implying? 
Ilias
She is implying that just because your little brother is dead, does not mean the entire human race should be destined for genocide.
Cameron
What would you know?
Iris
We wouldn’t. We do not allow ourselves to be slaves of our emotions. 
Cameron
If a slave is what I am, than I am one who is content with my position. 
Ilias
Those who dwell in their position can never progress. 
Cameron
I admire your ability to control every nature of your minds, but at times it is acceptable to allow oneself to be motivated by them. 
Ilias
We do not agree. 
Iris
We are not children. We won’t kill because we feel everyone should die because we killed our own blood.
Cameron looked at Iris.
Cameron
Say that again, say it again and you will never speak again.
 Iris
I do not fear death, and even if I did, you cannot kill me. 
Cameron
Would you like to wager on that? 
Ilias
I would.
Ilias smiled.
Ilias
Do you not like the truth, Cameron? Does hearing you killed your own little brother offend you?
Cameron
Shut up!
Ilias
You wish this pain would go away, yet you are motivated to push the same pain onto others. 
Ximendos
Boys, enough. 
Cameron
I don’t need you to protect me. I don't want them to feel my pain, I don't want them to feel anything. They will all just die.
Iris
You’re broken Cameron. Though you carry yourself well and hold an amount of intelligence worthy of our presence, you were raised as a human and lack the progression we had. 
Ilias
You rely on your emotions while we do not. You are regrettably human.  
Cameron
What would you do? What would you do if you were me?
 Ilias
I’d let go. Death is common, death is precious as life because it continues the cycle. 
Cameron
That isn’t enough!
Iris
I wouldn’t have killed my brother. 
Cameron
Enough. While I do believe in controlling ones emotions, you lack the compassion and sympathy to understand another and their position.
 Iris
As you know, the world revolves around the sun, so please do not flatter yourself into thinking we should revolve around you, naïve Cameron. 
Akasha
My children, leave your brother alone. 
Cameron
No, she is right. I was naïve to trust any of you. Also, they are not my siblings so please refrain from acknowledging me as their brother.
Ximendos
Cameron, please understand. 
Cameron
It’s too late for that. I’ll be away from here. Call me when you need me.
 Ilias
Try not to blow anything or anyone up.
 Iris
We would not want to create more of your kind. 
Cameron
Come Malic. Get Velis.
Malic’s silver cords wrapped around Velis and they walked out of the room.
Ilias
He worries me father.
Ximendos
Does he?
 Ilias
Yes, he isn’t like us.
Ximendos
Explain.
Iris
Well, although he is vicious and his will is alongside of ours, he still holds a heart that has yet to be fully shaken. 
Ilias
What she means is, he is still capable of doing good things. 
Ximendos
Interesting.
Iris
He will be the first to betray us. 
Ilias
Most likely. 
Ximendos
I doubt he will, but if so, he will die. 
Ilias
I would like that task when it happens.
Ximendos
It is yours. 
Akasha
Do you all not have any sympathy for him? He has no father, and no family because they died by his powers.
 Ilias
Sympathy is for the weak.
 Iris
And the weak die. 
Amya
Enough with all of this, what of the boy? 
Ximendos
He will die of course. 
Ilias
It will prove to be a difficult task. My main power does not have any effect on him and neither does Amya’s.
 Ximendos
This is true, but you all still have powers he will fear. 
Ilias
Of course.
Iris
I want to kill Arkain.
Gemma
Arkain?
Gemma stood up.
Gemma
Arkain is alive?
 Ximendos
Yes, my child.
Gemma
How do you know this? 
Akasha
We’ve seen him.
Gemma
I knew it. I could feel it.
Ximendos
He is now your enemy Gemma. If you must, you will kill him. 
Gemma
I can’t do that, I can’t kill Arkain. 
Ilias
You can, you will just choose not to.
 Iris
Another problem, another mind consumed by emotions.
Gemma’s eyes began to water.
Gemma
I can’t kill Arkain, Arkain is the only person I can see. 
Gemma, I will kill them all.
Iris
Brother, the one inside of her is talking. 
Gemma
How can you hear him?
 Iris’s eyes glittered in the dark.
She knows I am awake.
 Gemma
I am leaving.
I will kill them. 
Ilias
Sit Gemma.
Gemma
No, I am leaving, I have to find Arkain.
 Ilias
Gemma, I said sit.
Gemma
You can’t make me.
Ilias stood up and walked over to her and put his face so close to her she could see his eyes as a blur.
Ilias
I said, sit.
Gemma sat down.
Ximendos
I didn’t want it to come to this. 
Ilias
You knew it would. I didn't know it would work but she has to be controlled. She is only a weapon.
Iris
And weapons don’t have feelings. 
Ximendos
Enough, you may all leave. Rest, for things begin once the White House is rebuilt. 
Iris
Lets go brother.
Ilias
Lets. I feel like going to the ocean.
They walked out of the room.
Amya
And so, this is the first day of the Solace Empire. 
Ximendos
Yes, yes it is.
Akasha
Already tensions run deep. Allow it to continue and we will be divided.
Ximendos
Cameron needs to understand those two. Their words are clouds and they are hoping we shape them into knives and pierce ourselves with them.

Roselyn and three Gears appeared in front of Arkain, Suri, and Nicholas.
Roselyn
We are the last remaining members of New Order, and we owe our allegiances to Nicholas Romberg. 
Nicholas
You’re welcome, Roselyn of the forest. 
Roselyn
I would like to talk to your leader of the White Coats about the resistance. 
Arkain
Just what I had in mind.
Suri
Now, we just have to find the hideout, it’s virtually impossible to find. 
Nicholas
We can’t find anything just sitting here, let’s go. 
Roselyn
I will find it. 
Suri
How?
Roselyn
If the grass grows, I will find it.
Fallen laid in the grass on his back while Amros and Hayden stood above him and Merdos and Masato in cat form stood on all four.
Amros
How unpredictable this has all been.
 Hayden
That has always been the way of the future. 
Fallen
Ximendos is a worthy enemy. 
Amros
Our greatest.
Hayden
It is hard to see what he is doing wrong though. 
Amros
Yes. The humans all their lives have prayed for a God and now they have one. 
Hayden
Tangible and threatening. Fallen
We're all gods to humans.  
Amros
There are religions that consist of many. My brother Ximendos is now our greatest enemy and our only way to purify the human race.
Hayden
Your sister Amya is now the enemy too, Amros. 
Amros
Yes, she is. 
Fallen
Only those with wings are fit to be Gods.
Merdos and Masato purred.
Amros
The sun has fully risen. 
Amros
What a wicked web they’ve weaved. 
Hayden
What wicked webs indeed. 
Amros
We will save them of course, but only to make sure we have saved them from themselves. 
Hayden
Whether Arkain is dead or not, we must proceed.
 Amros
We must make sure our plan to clear the minds of humanity is approved so they may start all over.
Hayden
That will lead to real peace that will lead to true understanding. 
Amros
Indeed.