We last read Chapter 31, in which Ollie gets into an argument with Moody a.k.a. Specter considering her lack of usage with him or any other member of King Ryker's court besides T.J., but once he reveals to her that he's also been suffering backlash from the Citadel's populace for his continued support of his friend and colleague Doc despite the latter's sexual assault conviction, the conversation quickly pivots to that instead. Even though Specter urges Ollie to begin distancing himself from Doc to protect his own reputation, Ollie adamantly refuses, emphasizing the sheer amount of hardship and trials the two went through during their time under the Iron Kingpin's rule and Specter's rebellion: they obtained invaluable education while remaining under the radar, joined the resistance when they were skilled enough, and fought against the Iron Kingpin together, eventually managing to free the Citadel. Ollie still thinks that there's good in Doc even though he hasn't done great things recently, with Specter eventually empathizing with Ollie due to her experiences with both Dr. Duncan Drevis—her former boss during her time serving the Crimson Skulls—and the Rusted Citadel, equating her faith in the Citadel's bright future with Ollie's faith in Doc's supposed "goodness". Soon, Ollie and Specter make up, with Specter promising to meet Ollie at the latter's Teleportation Network the following morning at 8:00am, at which point she will make use of his portals to go investigate the third and final targeted location for the dissenter attacks; a ruined house in the same residential district where T.J. lives.
Meanwhile, Dashie returns to her apartment after being held captive at the Pearly Skates Skating Rink and being rescued by King Ryker and his court, alongside Specter and T.J. Although both her mother and her father are quick to embrace her with gratitude and relief the moment she walks in through the door, shocking revelations eventually strike when the three of them try to go to bed and Dashie discovers paperwork seemingly implying that her mother and father attempted to abort her before her birth. Angry and upset, she immediately goes to confront them about it, at which point the chapter ended.
This time, Dashie makes a very important decision regarding her family and her place within the Rusted Citadel.....
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Dashie, her mother, and her father all got into an intense argument as all three of them headed back downstairs to the round dining room table to sort things out. It was an unprecedented outpouring of emotions, from sadness and regret on Dashie's mother's part to shock, anger, betrayal, and disappointment on the part of the young girl herself.
Eventually, they reached the dining nook, and Dashie's parents had a seat while she herself remained standing up.
"I can't believe you two tried to kill me....." Dashie cried, her voice shaking. "Did you not want me? Did you not want a child at all?!"
"Sweetie, please calm down....." Dashie's mother pleaded, already sounding torn apart on the inside. "I can explain everything....."
"Why should I trust anything you have to say?! You already kept this from me for over a decade!"
Dashie slammed the packet of paperwork on the dining room table after that latest phrase to drive her point home.
Dashie's mother, with trembling hands, picked up the documents and flipped through the stapled pages, tears already running down her face as her husband gently patted her on the back.
"The Iron Kingpin's reign was harrowing. Everywhere you looked, there was torture. Hurt. Suffering. Evil.....it was everywhere," her mother started.
"Even here, apparently," Dashie sniped pettily, to which her mother simply continued her explanation without answering back. "Go on."
"Your father and I wanted to do something. We tried to do something. When your cousin began actively opposing the Iron Kingpin, we desperately wanted to join him.....but our fear won out, and we stayed inside while he gradually became one of the Iron Kingpin's most vocal opponents. And then there was his arrest.....and the isolated colony.....and.....and....."
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Specter
Jugendliteratur~PARAGON CINEMATIC UNIVERSE: PHASE 3, BOOK 2~ *This novel serves as the 2nd novel of Phase 3 and a sequel to "Spark of the Rebellion".* "War is part of nature, and it's time that you accept that. When we return this Citadel to its warring state...
